Myths and facts about hypersensitivity
- According to studies, hypersensitivity affects 15-30% of the population.
- Aron and Aron’s ‘sensory processing sensitivity’ model characterises this disorder as easy arousal, a low sensory threshold and aesthetic sensitivity.
- The effects of hypersensitivity may vary depending on the individual, his or her past experiences and ability to manage emotions, or the context.
- The supposed increase in cases is thought to be the result of greater recognition of the phenomenon and changes in attitudes towards emotions.
- Hypersensitivity is neither an illness nor a defect, but rather a personality trait that needs to be understood and harnessed to become a strength.
Hypersensitive people cry all the time – FALSE
Hypersensitivity is a phenomenon that attracts a great deal of interest these days and is the subject of many oversimplifications and clichés. In reality, it is a complex concept and the subject of numerous solid scientific studies. They are based on several models to explain hypersensitivity and the definitions that follow from them. Among the most widely used is the ‘sensory processing sensitivity’ model of Aron and Aron (1997). According to this, hypersensitive people are characterised by a tendency to be more sensitive to internal and environmental stimuli. They also express greater emotional reactivity, both negative and positive.
In other words, high emotionality is only a small part of hypersensitivity. Instead, hypersensitivity has three facets:
- Ease of arousal: a tendency to react intensely to internal and external stimuli
- A low sensory threshold: increased sensitivity to subtle stimuli (internal and external)
- Aesthetic sensitivity: high receptivity to aesthetic manifestations and the reactions they provoke.
However, our work has led us to consider a fourth component: the avoidance of disruptive stimuli, i.e. a tendency to try to control them in order to protect oneself from them.
Hypersensitivity can have both positive and negative effects – TRUE
In the media, hypersensitivity is sometimes portrayed as a handicap, sometimes as a ‘superpower’. In reality, although the effects of hypersensitivity most often appear to be negative, the impact on the individual varies.
Aron and Aron’s model proposes a classification into two categories. On the one hand, there are those who have had a happy childhood, who are less introverted, emotional and prone to depression than the second category, and for whom hypersensitivity appears to be less of a problem. On the other hand, those who had a difficult childhood were more likely to develop anxiety, particularly social anxiety.
In addition, our work could lead us to propose another classification, without contradicting the previous one, still in two profiles. The first would be the most common, the ‘vulnerable’ hypersensitive, for whom hypersensitivity would be a factor in emotional fragility. On the other hand, for the second profile, the ‘aesthetic’ hypersensitive, hypersensitivity could play a protective role in certain situations, and be psychologically re-energising.
There are as many hypersensitivities as there are hypersensitive people – TRUE
These classifications do not mean that individuals belong to fixed categories. In fact, hypersensitivity is partly innate, with genetic and neurobiological predispositions, but it also requires an activating context, i.e. an environment that awakens this potential. However, each individual reacts differently to a given situation. And the same person can react differently to the same event, depending on the moment and the context. So everyone’s relationship to hypersensitivity depends on a multitude of factors.
What’s more, it would be preferable to speak of ‘high sensitivity’, as in English or Spanish, rather than ‘hypersensitivity’. This would better reflect where an individual falls on the sensitivity continuum.
Hypersensitivity is a weakness – FALSE
In Aron and Aron’s model, hypersensitivity is a character trait, i.e. a consistent individual difference that appears from birth, based on genetic and neurobiological considerations. It’s not a disadvantage, just a particular way of functioning that one must learn to cope with. According to studies, it affects 15- 30% of the population.
In fact, it’s not even necessary to detect hypersensitivity, as long as it doesn’t cause discomfort. If it does, then there are scientifically validated tools, such as the Aron and Aron scale, in the form of a questionnaire available in several languages.
However, the question should never be reduced to “Am I hypersensitive?” Instead, the aim should be to take a global approach, to identify the psychological and relational difficulties that people encounter in their lives, and to see how hypersensitivity may or may not play a role.
Hypersensitivity mainly affects women – FALSE
There is no scientific evidence to suggest that women are more hypersensitive than men. The proportions are generally similar between the two genders. On the other hand, there are more introverts among hypersensitive people. But this is not a specificity either since it concerns around 30% of extroverts.
There are more hypersensitive people than before – UNCERTAIN
It is impossible to compare the number of hypersensitive people over time, simply because the concept is still fairly recent. So how can we estimate the proportion of people affected at a time when hypersensitivity had not yet been defined? That’s not to say that there weren’t hypersensitive people in the past, but they weren’t recognised as such.
However, this supposed increase can be explained by the recent media coverage of the term. Many people can recognise themselves in approximate descriptions and describe themselves as hypersensitive. But how many of them confirm this intuition with a valid test? It’s hard to know.
But perhaps we are also witnessing a generational trend. As educational principles have changed, consideration and management of emotions may have evolved, thereby favouring hypersensitivity. But as far as we know, this has not been confirmed by any studies.
The brains of hypersensitive people are different from those of the rest of the population – FALSE
The brain of a hypersensitive person is the same as that of any other individual. Its structure, in particular its central nervous system, shows no notable difference. However, it functions differently: it does not react in the same way to different situations, certain areas of the brain are more activated than others… To draw a parallel, most people have two arms. Although they are structurally identical, each individual does not use them in the same way, whether voluntarily or not.
Hypersensitivity is an illness that can be cured – FALSE
Hypersensitivity is neither an illness nor a disorder. Consequently, it cannot be ‘diagnosed’, let alone ‘treated’ or ‘cured’. Moreover, it is not included in the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), which lists mental and psychiatric disorders.
However, in some cases it can lead to emotional disorders. Initially, the idea is to become aware of this specificity and gain a better understanding of our own functioning. The next step is to find the tools to manage it more effectively, for example through psychotherapy. The aim is to turn hypersensitivity into a resource rather than a constraint.
However, it is important to bear in mind that there is currently no universal, scientifically proven method for transforming hypersensitivity into a strength. But this is one of the areas in which we are looking to apply our research.
